Bob Diamond will come under detailed cross-examination within days over whether he personally put pressure on bank officials to manipulate Libor, the key series of interest rates that underpin the world financial system.

The chief executive of Barclays is to be questioned by MPs on the Treasury Select Committee over his precise role in late 2007 and 2008 during the second phase of the bank’s market manipulation scandal.

MPs, as well as some Barclays shareholders, feel that Mr Diamond has so far ducked the central question of how much he knew and whether he encouraged, directly or indirectly, others to